Air-brake



(No Model.)

I. HARVEY, Sr.

AIR BRAKE. No. 378,365. Patented Feb. 21, 1888 H344 mow,

- 381:1 Mm v UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

ISAAC HARVEY, SR, OF DAGUS MINES, PENNSYLVANIA.

AIR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 378,365, dated February 21, 1888.

Application filed January 21, 1887. Serial No. 224,998. (No model.) i

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, Isnno HARVEY, Sn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dagus Mines, in the county of Elk and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to air-brakes, and is applicable to freight as well as to other cars,

and has for its object to simplify the constructron and to provide for applying the brakes, either at the discretion of the engineer or antomatically, in the event of one car becoming accidentally detached from another.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing ob jects the invention consists in the construction and combination hereinafter described, and afterward specified in the claims, whereby the brake is taken and held off by the application or pressure of air, so as to throw the friction-wheel out of operation, and put on by exhausting or withdrawing the air, so that the friction-wheel will be brought into contact with the car-wheel to apply the brakes.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating one form of my invention, Figure l is a side view of a car with a portion broken away, showing the brake device applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of a car, showing the airpipcs and other parts of the brake mechanism. Fig. l is a detail of the piston-cylinder, frictionwheel, and connecting parts on an enlarged scale. Fig. 5 is a View of the same, taken at right angles to Fig. 1, and showing the piston cylinder in section.

The letter A designates a car with its trucks, wheels, brakeshocs, and levers ofany ordinary and wclllcnown construction. Under the car passes a main pipe, B, for air, from which a branch pipe, 0, extends to a piston-cylinder, D, the same entering the cylinder at any suitable point, but preferably at the bottom, as shown. lhis cylinder will be connected to the frame-work of the car at the most convenient or desirable part in any strong and substantial manner that may be dictated by the judgment of the mechanic, and within the cylinder will operate a piston, ll. This piston will be con nectcd with a rod, F, in some suitable manner-say by means of an arm, G, passed through an elongated slot, H, formed in the side of the cylinder, said slot permitting the reciprocation of the piston. The slot will be located at such point that the piston may move the desired distance without effecting communication between the slot and the portion of the cylinder in which the actuating fluid or gas may be confined, and the piston will of course be packed in any approved manner to prevent the passage of the fluid or gas between it and the sides of the cylinder. One end of the rod B will be connected to a shaft, I, so as to permit the latter to revolve, the shaft being journaled at one end in an appropriate boxing, J, connected with the car-frame and passing through any desired number of guide-arms K, the construction of said parts being such as to permit the shaft to be raised and lowered, at one end at least, and the shaft being formed in any of the well-known ways that will prevent it from sliding (at least to any detrimental extent) longitudinally and yet at the same time permit it to revolve. This shaft has keyed to it a friction-wheel, L, made of any suitable material and located at such point that it may be brought to bear upon the tread of the car-wheel M, and of any suitable construction. I prefer to form it, however, with a flange, L, to lie outside of the flange of the wheel, as shown, so that any liability of the frictiouwvheel passing beyond the tread of the car-wheel is guarded against, and with a beveled face to correspond to the bevel of the tread of the wheel, so as not to be liable to be thrown from off the wheel.

The shaft I is connected by a chain, N,with the rod 0 of the brake-levers, as shown, so that when the friction wheel is brought into contact with the car-wheel the revolution of the latter will turn the friction -wheel and its shaft, and thus wind the chain upon the shaft and draw the brake-levers so as to apply the brake -shoes and brake the cars. The friction-wheel may be brought into contact with the car-wheel by gravity or otherwise, but preferably by means of a spring of any suitable form and application. I have illustrated two forms and mode of application, one being a coiled or spiral spring, P, located within the piston-cylinder, between the piston and head of the cylinder, the tension of the spring being controlled by a set screw, Q, passing through the head of the cylinder. The other form is a spring-plate, Z, secured at one end to some suitable part of the car-frame and at the other end to the shaft I, so that the spring will normally draw the piston and shaft downward to form contact between the frictionwheel and car-wheel. Both or only one of said springs can be used. The friction-wheel is lifted from and kept out of contact with the car-wheel, when the brakes are to be off, by air transmitted through the main pipe B to the branch pipe 0, and from thence into the cylinder beneath the piston E. The pressure of air against the piston lifts it and through the piston-rod raises the friction-wheel, so that the car-wheels can revolve.

The main air-pipes of the cars composing the train are connected by a flexible separable coupling, R, in the well-known way, and when not coupled said couplings may be confined within a box or housing, S, on the platform or other part of the ear. V

To provide for holding the friction-wheel from contact with the carwheel when air is not or cannot be used for the purpose, I fulcrum a lever, T, to some part of the car and hinge or joint one end thereof to the upper end of the piston-rod F, so that by depressing said lever the friction-wheel will be lifted from the car-wheel, and when the lever is released the spring will draw the piston and frictionwheel down to brake the car. The lever can be held in position to keep the friction-wheel from contact with the car-wheel by pressing it down below a stop or catch, U, and then inwardly, so as to bring the lever under the catch, which projects from some suitable part of the carsay from the end of the car, as shown-and is formed with any suitable shoulder to hold the lever when pressed under it. This lever is preferably made with some spring or elasticity, so that when pressed under the catch it will hold; but when the piston is raised by the application of air the free end of the lever will be thrown down from engagement with the catch, and then spring outward, so as to be free to act as if no catch were used. This construction, however, permits the brake mechanism to be operated by hand, without depending upon air, so that a car having my invention applied thereto can be used with any other form of car.

This invention does not prevent the use of the ordinary hand brake mechanism, for it will be observed that a chain, N, can extend from the rod 0 to the brake-lever V, which will have the hand-wheel attached and be con structed and operated in the old and wellknown way. I

I have shown the cylinder and brake mechanism applied at only one end of the car; but it is obvious that it may be applied to both ends, and that changes in the details of construction of the several par-ts may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is also obvious that the frictionwheel will operate to wind up the chain and apply the brake in whichever direction the car may move.

By the application of my invention, if any car become uncoupled in passing around curves or up grade, as not unfrequently happens, the flow of air through the main pipe will be cutoff, and the friction-wheel immediately brought into contact with the carwheel,and the several cars of the train at once braked, and the engineer thus notified of the accident.

The construction is simple and not expensive to build, and can be easily applied with but slight alterations in present forms, and is very eiiicient for the uses intended.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is- 1. The combination of the shaft carrying the friction-wheel, the cylinder having a piston therein and directly connected with said shaft, as by red F, and the air-pipe communicating with said cylinder, and the chain connecting said shaft with the brake-levers, said parts being arranged and operating substantially as described.

2. The combination of the shaft carrying the friction-wheel to bear on the tread of the car-wheel, the air-cylinder, the piston working therein and directly connected with said shaft, as by rod F, a spring influencing said friction-wheel, and the chain connecting said shaft with the brakelevers, said parts being arranged and operating substantially as de scribed.

3. The combination of the shaft carrying the friction-wheel, the vertically-moving rod connected with said shaft, the lever connected to said rod, a catch for said lever to engage with and adapted, as described, to be automatically released, and a chain connecting the friction-wheel shaft with the brake-levers, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the shaft carrying the friction-wheel, the piston-cylinder, the piston working therein and directly connected with said shaft, an air-pipe communicating with the cylinder, a lever connected tothe piston rod, a catch for said lever to engage with, and a chain connecting the frictionwheel shaft with the brake-levers, said parts being arranged and operating substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ISAAC HARVEY, SR.

IIS 

